Opto-electronic devices, e.g. optical transceivers, include optical subassemblies (OSA) for converting electronic signals into optical signals and/or vice versa. Optical transceivers include a transmitter optical subassembly (TOSA), which includes a laser, and a receiver optical subassembly (ROSA), which includes a photodiode detector. Conventional transceivers have not required specially designed heat sinks, as the metal housings or the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding have provided sufficient heat dissipation. However, the latest generation of transceiver modules, which transmit at 10 Gb/s, include heat sources that generate heat that cannot be dissipated by normal means. Moreover, these heat sources are spread out over the transceivers printed circuit board, and extend upwardly therefrom by various amounts. An initial solution to this problem is to provide heat dissipating fins on the upper surface of the top cover of the module's housing, and to provide raised portions on the lower surface of the top cover for contacting the heat sources. This solution, while providing constant heat dissipation over the entire upper surface of the module's housing, does not provide any versatility for accommodating particularly hot heat sources. Moreover, it is very difficult to match the corresponding raised portions on the lower surface of the top cover with a plurality of heat sources without one or more of the contacts being less than optimum.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,236 issued Sep. 15, 1998 to Johnny Brezina et al discloses a high density heat sink attachment for mounting multiple heat sinks directly onto a printed circuit board. Unfortunately, the Brezina et al device does not provide an enclosure for the entire module. Moreover, since the heat sinks are held down only by torsion clips and do not completely seal the opening in the frame, the Brezina et al device does not ensure the proper EMI shielding.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a modular heat sink cover for an opto-electronic device that provides the versatility to accommodate for various heat sources, while providing sufficient EMI shielding.